UAB trauma centers are busier than ever as the number of trauma cases at UAB hospitals reaches record levels.
Author: Ally Halcher
Media Contact: Bob Shepard
96% of trauma patients who reach UAB hospitals survive.
Photo: Steve Wood2021 has been a record year for the University of Alabama Birmingham Trauma Center. A record number of patients were evaluated and admitted with the highest quality-of-care indicators the center has ever had.
UAB has the state’s only American College of Surgeons-accredited Adult Level I Trauma Center. This means we meet rigorous standards and see patients with the most serious trauma, including car accidents, gun violence, and falls from all over Alabama. Adjacent states.
In 2021, UAB will process 6,466 trauma assessments, a 17% increase over the past year and a 34% increase over the past two years. Trauma hospitalizations are his 4,568, up 10% from 2020. The number of seriously injured hospitalized patients has also increased by 27% over the past two years.
Daniel Cox, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAB Trauma Service and associate professor in UAB’s Trauma and Acute Care Surgery division, says it took about eight years to see an increase of 1,000 trauma assessments in the past. . It will increase in just one year in 2021.
As the number of patients at the UAB Trauma Center has increased, so has the level of care. By 2021, UAB survival will reach a record high of 96%. According to the ACS National Trauma Quality Improvement Program indicators, compared to hospitals with similar trauma volume and adjustment for case complexity, UAB is better for patients with penetrating injuries, shock patients, and geriatric patients. It was in the top 10% of survival. Patients with blunt injury and patients with multisystem blunt injury.
“Despite the volume and sensitivity of the cases we saw, our care metrics were shown to be among the best in the country,” said Jeffrey Kerby, director of UAB’s trauma division. said the doctor of medicine. Acute Care Surgery and the Brigham Family donated Professor of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. “This is a testament to all the surgeons and staff who contribute to the trauma program and are passionate about what they do.”
Daniel Cox, M.D., Director of Trauma Services, UAB
Photo: Steve WoodOne reason for the increase in patient numbers is the restructuring of trauma services into a more efficient model. Beginning in August 2018, Trauma Services began his one-and-a-half-year process that involved transforming clinical practice at UAB hospitals, reducing the average length of stay for trauma patients. They did this in part by hiring 12 additional advanced practice providers for a process that they finally began implementing in the spring of 2020. The results? Hospital stays were reduced by an average of 1.4 days, and trauma services were able to accept 46 patients per month. In 2021, trauma centers experienced record low overload on trauma systems when trauma services were at capacity and patients had to be transferred to other hospitals. In 2021, the total time the UAB was bypassing him was 6.5 days, down 96% over the past three years.
“Because we are the only ACS Level I adult trauma center in the state, we felt strongly that Alabama residents could rely on us to provide the highest quality trauma care,” Cox said. says. “We have to be open and available to injured patients when they need them.”
The rise in UAB trauma cases reflects and exceeds national trends in gun violence and vehicular injuries, but the national trauma system is under threat. also shows
Alabama has large areas that are considered “trauma deserts” due to the lack of access to adequate high-level definitive care for trauma patients. Researchers from UAB’s Center for Injury Science and the UAB Heersink School of Medicine were found. According to the study, more than 470,000 of her residents in Alabama were unable to reach a hospital within a 30-minute drive.
Kirby is Alabama’s first trauma consultant. And starting in March, Kirby will have a major impact on his system of trauma across the country, where he will serve as chairman of the ACS trauma committee. of care.
Jeffrey Kerby, MD, Ph.D., Director of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Photo: Dustin MasseyKirby said Alabama needs to invest in building out the infrastructure of its current trauma system so patients can get the right care at the right time, wherever they are in the state. With enough hospitals participating at higher levels, Alabama is poised to have one of the best trauma systems in the country, he says. Alabama has its own unique side, including that he is one of the few states with his Trauma Communications Center that monitors conditions in trauma hospitals within Alabama. This ensures that patients are timely sent to the appropriate facility according to their injuries, improving their chances of survival.
The Department of Trauma and Acute Medicine Surgery not only responds to a strained statewide system by providing superior care, but also seeks to heal it through many initiatives. provides rural trauma team development courses to rural hospitals. This course empowers these hospitals to assess and resuscitate the seriously injured and determine if the patient should be transferred to a hospital that can provide a higher level of care.
The department also teaches a Stop-the-Breed course that trains people to perform life-saving measures in emergencies, such as applying a tourniquet to severe wounds and applying pressure. The department has taught Stop the Breed courses to teachers and students in schools in central Alabama.
Working with community leaders, the Health Alliance for Violent Intervention and the Jefferson County Health Department, the department is in the early stages of Birmingham’s hospital-based violent intervention program. Provides resources with the goal of breaking the cycle of violence.
“In addition to caring for patients, we also work outside hospitals in the areas of injury prevention, community education and advocacy to reduce the number of injuries and preventable deaths statewide,” Kirby said. rice field.
Kirby said Alabama residents need to be able to receive the level of care they need in a timely manner no matter where they are injured in the state.
“UAB trauma centers will continue to focus on access and quality of trauma care to ensure we are ready to assist patients in their moments of crisis,” he said.
